Thornton Towers is frequently referred to as the Isadora Duncan building: There are those who say Thornton Towers were built by the Duncan sisters, Isadora Duncan, the mother of modern dance, is said to have lived in the penthouse and danced on the roof.

However, author Jeffrey Stanton insists at his Venice History site that Duncan lived in San Francisco and owned no Venice property.

Each house on this former island was named after a state. The taller structure behind the small cottages is a much later addition. Not sure if the any of the cottages are original or not. The island was chopped in half. The cottages on the section north of Andalusia were only recently trucked in and placed.

This Spanish Colonial Revival style building once housed the Venice Branch Library. Its entrance still features the original diamond-paned double doors (complete with book return slot) and wrought-iron lamps. The building is now a youth and family community center.

This historic stretch of Santa Monica beach — the original Muscle Beach — was the epicenter of the American fitness movement in it’s salad days. Now it’s a veritable cornucopia of sturdy exercise apparatuses and playground equipment. There are balance beams, chinning bars, rings and ropes. The padded play/workout areas are nice, too. There’s also gobs of playground equipment and mock rocks for children to play on, and you’ll generally see plenty of kids here going bonkers (under the watchful eyes of parents and teachers).